1086 General Notes. [ November, 
mines of Katanga. The wide region lying between the Lualaba, 
Urna, the Kande Irunde mountains, and Iramba, is governe 
by a powerful chief called Msirri. The Lualaba bounds his do- 
minions on the west, and is a considerable. river, 400 to 600 yards 
wide where Herr Reichard saw it, and navigable as far as Many- 
uema This river, which from its volume must be looked upon 
as the real head of the Congo, flows through Lake Upemba. 
The Lufira, which is tributary to it, flows through the center of 
the country. It rises twenty days’ journey to the south of Ka- 
tanga. Katanga,the exceedingly rich copper mines of which are at 
present unworked, is about 250 miles south-west of Luapula, and 
forms part of Msirri’s dominions. 
America.—American News—In the August number of the 
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Mr. E. im Thurn 
gives a full account of the difficulties incurred in the journey to 
and ascent of Roraima, as well as of the botanical rewards ob- 
tained. The general aspect of all the plants on the summit 1$ 
dwarf, almost alpine, but many lovely flowering plants, including 
one closely resembling the crown imperial, and a luxuriant pitcher- 
plant (Heliamphora) occurred, with a few ferns and one shrub 
five or six feet high. The top of the mountain is not flat, but 
forms a shallow basin, the edge formed by the rugged edge of 
the cliff This basin is divided up into a vast number of smaller 
shallow basins, separated by curiously terraced ridges of rock, 
often of crescentic or even ring-like shape. These basins hold a 
quantity of water, and every shower of rain suffices to swell the 
water to such an extent that cascades fall over the cliff. Sir 
Robert Schomburgk states that the water seems to flow, not from 
the top of the cliff, but from points some distance below. his 
is readily explained, for it flows through deep and narrow sloping 
channels, often cut parallel with the face of the cliff and hidden 
by projecting promontories. The statement of previous travelers 
which Mr. Im Thurn found hardest to explain was that the top 15 
covered with trees. This has been made with reference to the 
southern end, where there are certainly none, and our traveler 
believes that the rugged pinnacles and points of rock have been 
mistaken for trees. M. Chaffanjon, writing from Ciudad Bolivar, 
in May, states that with two Ariqua Indians he passed up the 
Caura river to its source, and obtained a mass of curious infor- 
mation respecting the manners and religious beliefs of the 
Arebatas, Penares and other tribes, He was also able to visit 
and study the Yaruras and Mapayes. His explorations on a 
Orinoco have enabled him to rectify many errors in the charts Q! 
its course. Dr. Finsch is returning to Europe from his recent 
exploring expedition along the unknown portions of Kass 
Wilhelmsland, which are situated between Astrolabe bay an 
mp ldt bay. He reports the discovery of several good har- 
nd of a navigable river. The natives were friendly, 
